Richard Bernabe on productivity hacks and techniques for creators - photographers, artists, writers, musicians, etc. - so they can spend more of their time on the act on creating and less time bogged down on the mundane tasks of running a business.
These are battle-tested productivity techniques that transformed my creative practice. Discover how I wrote an entire photography book in just 7 months (instead of 2 years), how to identify which 20% of your work produces 80% of your results, and why multitasking is destroying your creative output. Does the time of day you perform certain tasks matter?
These aren't theoretical concepts - they're practical strategies I've implemented with dramatic results.
Notable Links:
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
The Myth of Multitasking: How Doing It All Gets Nothing Done by Dave Crenshaw
Never Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love by Chase Jarvis
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
Muench Workshops
KelbyOne
*****
This episode is brought to you by Kase Filters. I travel the world with my camera, and I can use any photography filters I like, and I’ve tried all of them, but in recent years I’ve landed on Kase Filters.
Kase filters are made with premium materials, HD optical glass, shockproof, with zero color cast, round and square filter designs, magnetic systems, filter holders, adapters, step-up rings, and everything I need so I never miss a moment.
And now, my listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10
Kase Filters, Capture with Confidence.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode is brought to you by case filters.
Look, I travel the world withmy camera and I can use any
photography filter I like. Andtrust me, I've tried them all,
but I only trust my photos tocase filters. That's case with
a K, K-K-A-S-E. Why? Well,they're made with premium
materials, HD optical glass,shockproof, no color cast.
(00:25):
Unlike some filters I've usedin the past, round and square
filter designs, magneticsystems, filter holders,
adapters, step up , ringseverything I need so I never
miss a moment. And now mylisteners can get 10% off. The
case filters Amazon page whenthey visit beyond the lens FM
slash case and use coupon codeBurnaby 10 . Check it out
(00:47):
beyond the lens FM slash case.
Use Burnaby 10 at checkout for10% off your case filters.
Amazon Order case filters,capture with confidence. Hello,
(01:14):
I'm Richard Bernaby , andwelcome to another episode of
Beyond the Lens, where Iusually speak with some of the
world's top creators aboutphotography, the arts, travel,
conservation, entrepreneurship,and creative culture. I say
usually because this episodetakes a detour, slightly
(01:35):
different format. But first,before we get to the detour, I
wanna point out that this isthe 85th episode of Beyond the
Lens, our little podcast thingwe have going on here, just us,
you and me. And moreimportantly, this is the third
anniversary of its inception,going all the way back to
(01:57):
March, 2022. And although thereare many people to thank for
its success, I want you to knowthat you, dear listener, are
the most important part of thepodcast, and I appreciate it
so, so much beyond words. Sothank you. And I mentioned that
this episode takes its slightlydifferent format than the
(02:18):
others, but if you're a longtime listener, you know, it's
certainly not new. I've donethis before, had episodes with
no guests , it's just been awhile , so it's just me this
time, boys and girls. Well ,actually, it's just me and you.
And it's surprising ,at least to me, that having an
(02:39):
occasional solo episode bymyself is one of the most
frequent requests I receive.
Yeah, I don't get it either,but here we are. So where do I
start? Look, I do have amission today, and it's based
on some mentoring I do, mostlycasual, but I do help and
(03:02):
advise photographers who aretrying to make a living at this
wonderful art form. I want tohelp them succeed. I want to
see it change their lives likeit changed mine . That's the
biggest reward. And I suspectthe difficulties they encounter
are not much different thanother creators. In addition to
photography, all artists,writers, musicians and more,
(03:25):
the difficulties of findingthemselves suddenly thrown into
the role of entrepreneur orbusiness owner more than they
probably bargain for. So when acreator like a photographer
goes pro, what they'reessentially saying is, I'm
starting a business. And mostdon't see that until it's too
late. And in observing them upclose, watching their work
(03:50):
habits, what do I see that ismost troubling? Well, if you
ask any entrepreneur orbusiness owner, what is their
most valuable and cherishedresource? Far and away, far and
away, it's TIME time and it'sthe resource that's most
recklessly, squandered andwasted. So at first, most new
(04:13):
creators feel like they haveall the time in the world
without the albatross of a nineto five holding them back. Now
they can use all their timedoing what they love, but once
they encountered the resistanceof success, any success, and
yes, I said resistance. I mean,look, if you're a creator,
success and all that comes withit can be a problem, even if
(04:36):
that's what you're workingtoward, success can be a
problem because success takestime. Success eats time. Wake
up in the morning. I mean ,this is just one example, but
wake up in the morning and gostraight to your email inbox
and immediately you're on theroad to ruin you're, you're
sunk. Several emails needresponding to, some have said
(05:00):
deadline demands on you, somewant to set up a call later in
the day. Some are asking you tofix a problem and suddenly
instead of you running the day,the day is running you, you
look up and you submitafternoon and you've not done a
thing, you've certainly notcreated anything. Remember that
creating you've become ahostage to your own success,
(05:24):
but the alternative is nosuccess. So what do you do? You
need to reclaim your time. Youneed to master your time and be
more productive so you canconserve that time for
creating, proactively,creating, starting new
projects, photo shoots, selfassignments , writing, and I
(05:44):
have some help, some advice,some tools to offer, which is
the purpose of this episode.
Some of this will apply to youand some of it won't . Some
will apply to different peopleto different degrees. I hope
it'll make you think. And Ihope that after listening the
(06:05):
first time, you'll want tolisten to it again and maybe
multiple times. That's my hope.
So here goes, we can call theseproductivity hacks if we want,
but the word hack really kindof turns me off. I mean, it's
kind of negative, it'soverused, it's cheap, but it's
(06:30):
definition. And mono vernacularrefers to creative problem
solving . So I'll stick with itfor now. The first two hacks I
learned from Tim Ferriss'sbook, the Four Hour Work Week ,
which is, I don't know , 20years old now, but it's still
certainly relevant today. AndI'll link to the book in the
(06:53):
show notes, the Four Hour WorkWeek by Tim Ferriss. The first
is something called Pareto'sPrinciple, P-A-R-E-T-O. So who
is this Pareto guy? He's RetoPareto , 19th century Italian
engineer in Polymath, an ownerof one of the coolest names
ever, fil Fredo , Pareto , Idon't care what your name is.
(07:18):
His name is cooler than yours.
The Pareto principles alsoknown as the 80 20 rule. And he
popularized it by concludingthat 80% of Italy's wealth was
in the hands of 20% of thepopulation. See, nothing's
changed since the 19th century.
And then in the 1940s, anotherengineer, Joseph Duran, applied
(07:40):
that observation to otherthings, most notably quality
control and described it as thevital few versus the useful
many. So how does this apply tocreators and productivity and
photography? Businesses usethis principle to analyze their
customers and revenue sourcesand their problems, and it
(08:00):
turns out that oftentimes 80%of the revenue comes from 20%
of the customers, the vitalfew, and it turns out that
about 80% of the problems andattention and work come from
20% of their customers. Solook, if you make a Venn
(08:22):
diagram and if you have revenuesources in the 80% that only
contribute to 20% of therevenue and they happen to
intersect with the 20% thatlead to 80% of the problems,
you should probably fire themor at least automate them. And
then the 20% that lead to 80%of the revenue find others who
(08:43):
share the same characteristicsafter some analysis and find
more just like them. At onetime I had almost 40 affiliate
partners, which I get revenuefrom, and some of them require
more work and attention thanothers. I applied this
principle to the 40 and somepartnerships I dropped, others
(09:05):
I modified, and then I addedothers that were similar to the
vital few. The result I nowhave only eight down from 40,
but more revenue and less work,a lot less work. So I said,
this may or may not apply toyou, but if you have multiple
income streams, take a closerlook, do less and make more.
(09:28):
The second hack from Ferris'sbook is called Parkinson's
Principle, commonly referred toas Parkinson's Law. Ferris in
his book, which I've alreadymentioned, defines the law as
follows, quote , Parkinson'slaw dictates that a task will
swell in perceived importancein a complexity in relation to
(09:50):
the time allotted for itscompletion. Tasks. And projects
often take longer thannecessary because people tend
to use all the time allottedregardless of the project's,
actual complexity, in otherwords, deadlines are almost
always extended way too farinto the future, much farther
(10:10):
than necessary. And the fartherthey go into the future, the
more complex and bloated andunfocused they become. Not to
mention they're a terriblewaste of time. I have an
example, a personal one thatI'll share. In 2017, I was
contracted to write a book onwildlife photography for a
publisher in the uk. Now, I'mnot that great a writer. I mean
(10:35):
I do okay if I have plenty oftime, but other than that, not
great. So I'm in London andwe're at lunch and we had just
signed a contract back in theiroffice and then I realized we
hadn't talked about when thismight actually get published
and how much time did I have todo this? The rep asked, well,
(10:56):
how much time do you need?
Well, I knew my writing skills,I knew I had some images I
wanted to make for it. I knew Ihad to organize the table of
contents and the outline andprobably do some research for
it. They wanted 140 pages ormaybe it was 160, 50,000 words
(11:19):
of text and I really wanted itto be great. So the more time
the better, right? So I said,about two years, he
laughed, no chance this bookmight be obsolete. By the time
we published it, I mean, thisis digital photography, digital
(11:40):
technology. So I said, okay,how about a year? Divide that
in half . He said, what? Halfof a year? There's no way I
said this to myself, I can't doit. I'm gonna embarrass myself.
I'm not gonna get it done intime. I'm have to give back the
(12:00):
signing bonus. I also knew thatI had two months of traveling
in Africa coming up, and thatwould take up way too much
time. I can't do this, but mypride got the best of me and I
ultimately agreed. Soimmediately I wrote out an
outline of a book scope in aday. I cleared my schedule of
(12:22):
all marginally important work,and I wrote and wrote and
wrote. I didn't second guessmyself. I just wrote what I
thought was essential for eachchapter. I went to Africa that
summer and wrote on planes, onbuses, in hotels. I wrote every
(12:43):
evening, every available chancemy laptop was out and open and
I was writing. In the end, Ifinished the book in seven
months, but that's not even thebest part. I'm convinced that
the work I did was better thanif I had stretch it out over
two years. The text wasconcise, it was focused, it was
(13:07):
clean. I'm absolutely convincedthat a two year deadline
would've reduced a bloated,unfocused mess knowing myself,
I'm convinced of that. Or itwould've been 18 months of
procrastination, worrying, selfanalyzing every decision about
(13:27):
what should be in the book andwhat shouldn't. And then a, a
mad six month scramble to getit on time. Anyway, it was good
work. Plus I didn't have thismonster project hanging around
my neck like a millstone . Fortwo years. I added 17 months of
creative freedom to mylifespan, literally. So getting
(13:49):
that book done in seven monthswas possible, even if I didn't
know it was possible at thestart, but it required focus
and attention and discipline,focus, attention, and
discipline. What hack did I useto keep that focus and
discipline to prevent myselffrom being distracted and
wasting time? Something calledthe Pomodoro technique.
(14:14):
P-O-M-O-D-O-R-O. And that's alot of o's. You can Google it.
It's a well-known technique.
It's a simple one. I learnedthis as I was writing the book,
and it's a simple way to focuson what's important, the key
from being distracted andgetting things done. And this
is how it goes. The Pomodorotechnique uses timed intervals
(14:38):
of focused work, followed byshort breaks to improve
productivity and mentalagility. The first thing you
do, choose a task you wannaaccomplish. In my case, it was
writing a book. Maybe thespecific task was a chapter or
a section. The second thing,choose a working space with no
distractions. No tv, no peopleif possible, no internet.
(15:04):
Switch your phone to airplanemode so there's no
notifications, no checkingemail, no Instagram, no
distractions, period. If you'reinternet addicted, don't laugh
or people like this. If you'reinternet addicted, turn off the
wifi in your house or youroffice. I'm serious. Next
(15:26):
thing, set the timer on yourphone for 25 minutes, then put
the phone on your desk out ofreach. This 25 minute interval
is called a pomodoro. Work onthat task for 25 minutes with
complete and total focus. Nodistractions, just focus for 25
(15:46):
minutes. Anyone can do thiswhen the alarm goes off, stop
what you're doing and take afive minute break. If there's
more work to do, completeanother Pomodoro. Reset the
timer for 25 minutes and focusagain. Rinse and repeat. Four
Pomodoros, make up a set. Andafter a set, take a 20 or 30
(16:08):
minute break before startingagain. This is so simple and
it's so effective. I use it allthe time and you won't believe
how much you can get done in ashorter amount of time In my
conversation with Chase Jarvis,and that would be back in
episode 73 if you wanna checkit out. We talked about his
(16:29):
latest book, never Play ItSafe, which I will link to in
the show notes. And he wasdescribing how debilitating
being distracted really is andhow being able to focus and
direct attention was the newsuperpower. He went on to quote
Andrew Huberman, professor ofneurobiology and ophthalmology
(16:49):
at Stanford University Schoolof Medicine, as well as a host
of a fantastic podcast by theway, where he says The ability
to focus in direct attention isthe distinguishing factor
between those who will succeedin any endeavor and those who
won't. The Pomodora techniqueis not only a great hack on
getting things done moreefficiently, but it's a great
(17:12):
training on how to focus andhow to keep from being
distracted all the time. Now,if you wanna waste a lot of
time and do crappy work, Ican't think of a better way to
accomplish both thanmultitasking. Just say no to
multitasking. There's anexcellent book by Dave Crenshaw
titled The Myth ofMultitasking, how Doing It All
(17:35):
Gets Nothing Done. I'll link toit in the show notes with the
others. And in the book,Crenshaw cites research that
confirms what I always believeto be true. And that is
multitasking is a myth. We cando multiple things at once, but
the way our brains are wired,it only can focus on one thing
(17:56):
at a time. So you can do twothings simultaneously. You'll
just do 'em badly. Rememberwhen this was something of
prospective employee mightactually brag about or put on a
resume, I'm a multitasker. It'snot multitasking, it's task
switching. You're just bouncingfrom one unfinished project to
(18:17):
another while not actuallyaccomplishing anything. To
quote Seth Godin , a woodpeckercan tap 20 times on a thousand
different trees and getnowhere. Yes, stay busy. Or you
can tap 20,000 times on asingle tree and get dinner. Say
no to multitasking and say yesto singletasking. The next
(18:42):
productivity hack, or let's,let's call this one a
productivity enhancement. It'sa little nerdy, but it's
incredibly effectivechronotypes and energy
matching. Now, a lot ofinformation here comes from
Daniel Pink's book titled WhenThe Scientific Secrets of
Perfect Timing. And of course,like the other books, I'll put
(19:05):
a link in the show notes. Well,here's the basic gist of it,
and I believe this and Ischedule my work around this
idea. A chronotype isessentially your eternal
biological clock thatinfluences when you naturally
feel alert or tired.
Particularly with regard tomental energy and cognitive
ability. There are two basicchronotypes. There are larks.
(19:31):
They're basically morningpeople, and most people,
including myself, fall in thiscategory. So for them, the
mornings are when theyexperience peak mental and
cognitive energy. This is thebest time for analytical work
focusing and decision making .
In the afternoons, theyexperience a trough where
(19:51):
mental energy and alertness arein decline. This is the best
time for administrative androutine tasks that don't
require analytical thinking.
Then they have a recoveryperiod. This is a second wind
of sorts, usually lateafternoons or evenings, this
resurgence of mental alertnessand energy not as strong as the
(20:11):
morning peak energy. However,coupled with the mental
fatigue, the experience at theend of the day and a loss of
inhibition are the best timesfor insight, creativity, and
brainstorming. Pink in his bookemphasizes that about 75% of
people follow this patternwhile about 25% are in the
second chronotype , the nightowls, where they experience
(20:35):
these stages in different orderwith their peak coming later in
the day. To optimize yourmental and creative energy and
become more productive, youshould try matching the tasks
with the appropriate times ofday. For me personally,
mornings are for analyticalwork focus. The Pomodoro
(20:55):
technique and writing thatworks best for me. I'm much
more productive in themornings. The afternoons are
off peak . So I scheduleroutine tasks like answering
email, cleaning my camera gearfrom the last expedition,
keywording your images inLightroom. Now , why would I
want to waste the peakproductive morning hours, the
(21:19):
times when I have heightenedmental energy for something
routine and banal likekeywording that's incredibly
wasteful and unproductive. Orconversely, why would I
schedule writing or analyticalwork in the afternoon during an
off-peak cognitive troughagain, so unproductive and a
(21:39):
time of day when you're alsomost prone to making errors.
Just a side note here, a studyin the Journal of American
Medicine found that anesthesiaerrors during surgery are far
more likely to happen in theafternoon than the morning, and
doctors find fewer polypsduring afternoon procedures
compared to the morning.
(21:59):
Something to consider if you'replanning surgery, doctors are
human too. Then in the evening,this is the creative
resurgence. This is when I'mmost likely to do image
processing. Why heightenedmental energy, mental fatigue,
loss of inhibition. The leftbrain let's down its guard
(22:20):
little and let's the rightbrain take the wheel for just a
little while. And when I'mdoing image processing, I'm
trying to recreate the best Ican, what I was feeling at the
time, not necessarily what Isaw or what I was thinking, but
what I was feeling. Theevenings are perfect for this
soft music. Maybe in thebackground, no lyrics, just
(22:42):
music, maybe a glass of winemaybe while I relive a
beautiful experience in natureor an exotic location I visited
recently with my camera. Again,you could take a deeper dive
into this topic by readingDaniel Pink's book titled When
The Scientific Secrets ofPerfect Timing. Be sure to
(23:04):
check out the show notes. Andlastly, to optimize your time
and become more productive.
Follow these instructions.
Automate and delegate. Automatethe routine. I'm gonna say this
three times. Automate theroutine, automate the routine,
automate the routine as much aspossible. Email automation, set
(23:28):
up filters, templates, scheduleemail to reduce time spent on
correspondence. Social mediascheduling. Use tools like
Hootsuite or Buffer to plan andautomate content posting. And
that goes for newsletters aswell. All your financial
management should be automated,all of it. You can use systems
like QuickBooks to link yourbank account to automated
(23:50):
transaction recording,automated invoicing, expense
tracking. There's all kinds ofapps now that can scan receipts
and automatically categorizeexpenses. And this is the bare
minimum that you should bedoing in automation.
Selectively use AI to performroutine tasks as well, and then
delegate. And this doesn't meanthat you have to take on
(24:13):
employees. In fact, I wouldn'trecommend it unless your
business really gets big.
Taking on employees creates awhole new set of problems and
creates a bigger drain on yourtime. Stay lean and mean is my
mantra. But sites like Fiverr,they can do coding, design
work, logos, website creation,maintenance , uh, alterations,
(24:37):
WordPress. I've had them doaudio engineering work for this
podcast as well. And the pricesare extremely reasonable.
You're hiring a freelancer, acontractor for a very specific
job. You don't need to be doingthese things yourself, let
someone else do it. Myphotography workshops, I used
(24:58):
to operate my own. And do yourealize how much work, the
logistical work that goes intothis? I suspect many of you who
are listening do know .
You have a website thatconstantly needs updating with
the newest offerings, clientcorrespondence, invoicing,
collecting deposits, collectingremaining balances, paying
(25:19):
vendors, getting propercommercial use authorizations
for operating in national parksand public lands, hiring guides
and outfitters scheduling andall that occurs before the
workshop even begins. So in2018, I gave all that up. I
delegated that work in a way. Ipartnered with MCH workshops,
(25:40):
the top, the the PremierPhotography workshop and
expedition company in theworld. And I lead and teach
workshops for them. What anhonor, really, because it's a
first rate company all the way.
But look at how much time wasliberated by letting them do
all that work that I justdescribed. Am I making less
(26:03):
money? Net as a result withworkshops slightly, but look at
what I've gained in invaluabletime. Look at the new projects.
I've been able to start as aresult. And that would include
this podcast too, by the way.
It was only a win-win for me towork with this amazing company
for one, and have the time andfreedom to pursue other
(26:26):
photography projects andclassroom teaching. I've
partnered up with Kel One forall my classroom and video
classes. Do I wanna spend hoursand hours creating my own
instructional videos, learningnew video editing software,
spending hours and hours behinda computer doing all that
editing. That's crazy. Kelbywon another first class
(26:49):
organization that I'm proud towork with. Another win-win for
me, delegation, automate anddelegate. Liberate your
precious times. You can do whatyou do best. Create. Okay, so
that's all the time we have forthis episode. I hope it was
worth your precious time inlistening, you can check out
(27:12):
the show notes for the links tothe books I mentioned in this
episode, as well as muteworkshops and tell one all
great resources. And look, ifyou have the chance and you
enjoyed the episode, pleaseleave a review on Apple
Podcasts and Spotify and Amazonor whatever podcast platform
you use to listen and leave arating or review. Thank you and
(27:36):
thanks for listening. Here'sthe truth, adventure and
Passion, boys and Girls. Seeyou next time.
This episode is brought to you by case filters.
Look, I travel the world withmy camera and I can use any
photography filter I like. Andtrust me, I've tried them all,
but I only trust my photos tocase filters. That's case with
a K, K-K-A-S-E. Why? Well,they're made with premium
materials, HD optical glass,shockproof, no color cast.
(00:25):
Unlike some filters I've usedin the past, round and square
filter designs, magneticsystems, filter holders,
adapters, step up , ringseverything I need so I never
miss a moment. And now mylisteners can get 10% off. The
case filters Amazon page whenthey visit beyond the lens FM
slash case and use coupon codeBurnaby 10 . Check it out
(00:47):
beyond the lens FM slash case.
Use Burnaby 10 at checkout for10% off your case filters.
Amazon Order case filters,capture with confidence. Hello,
(01:14):
I'm Richard Bernaby , andwelcome to another episode of
Beyond the Lens, where Iusually speak with some of the
world's top creators aboutphotography, the arts, travel,
conservation, entrepreneurship,and creative culture. I say
usually because this episodetakes a detour, slightly
(01:35):
different format. But first,before we get to the detour, I
wanna point out that this isthe 85th episode of Beyond the
Lens, our little podcast thingwe have going on here, just us,
you and me. And moreimportantly, this is the third
anniversary of its inception,going all the way back to
(01:57):
March, 2022. And although thereare many people to thank for
its success, I want you to knowthat you, dear listener, are
the most important part of thepodcast, and I appreciate it
so, so much beyond words. Sothank you. And I mentioned that
this episode takes its slightlydifferent format than the
(02:18):
others, but if you're a longtime listener, you know, it's
certainly not new. I've donethis before, had episodes with
no guests , it's just been awhile , so it's just me this
time, boys and girls. Well ,actually, it's just me and you.
And it's surprising
(02:39):
occasional solo episode bymyself is one of the most
frequent requests I receive.
Yeah, I don't get it either,but here we are. So where do I
start? Look, I do have amission today, and it's based
on some mentoring I do, mostlycasual, but I do help and
(03:02):
advise photographers who aretrying to make a living at this
wonderful art form. I want tohelp them succeed. I want to
see it change their lives likeit changed mine . That's the
biggest reward. And I suspectthe difficulties they encounter
are not much different thanother creators. In addition to
photography, all artists,writers, musicians and more,
(03:25):
the difficulties of findingthemselves suddenly thrown into
the role of entrepreneur orbusiness owner more than they
probably bargain for. So when acreator like a photographer
goes pro, what they'reessentially saying is, I'm
starting a business. And mostdon't see that until it's too
late. And in observing them upclose, watching their work
(03:50):
habits, what do I see that ismost troubling? Well, if you
ask any entrepreneur orbusiness owner, what is their
most valuable and cherishedresource? Far and away, far and
away, it's TIME time and it'sthe resource that's most
recklessly, squandered andwasted. So at first, most new
(04:13):
creators feel like they haveall the time in the world
without the albatross of a nineto five holding them back. Now
they can use all their timedoing what they love, but once
they encountered the resistanceof success, any success, and
yes, I said resistance. I mean,look, if you're a creator,
success and all that comes withit can be a problem, even if
(04:36):
that's what you're workingtoward, success can be a
problem because success takestime. Success eats time. Wake
up in the morning. I mean ,this is just one example, but
wake up in the morning and gostraight to your email inbox
and immediately you're on theroad to ruin you're, you're
sunk. Several emails needresponding to, some have said
(05:00):
deadline demands on you, somewant to set up a call later in
the day. Some are asking you tofix a problem and suddenly
instead of you running the day,the day is running you, you
look up and you submitafternoon and you've not done a
thing, you've certainly notcreated anything. Remember that
creating you've become ahostage to your own success,
(05:24):
but the alternative is nosuccess. So what do you do? You
need to reclaim your time. Youneed to master your time and be
more productive so you canconserve that time for
creating, proactively,creating, starting new
projects, photo shoots, selfassignments , writing, and I
(05:44):
have some help, some advice,some tools to offer, which is
the purpose of this episode.
Some of this will apply to youand some of it won't . Some
will apply to different peopleto different degrees. I hope
it'll make you think. And Ihope that after listening the
(06:05):
first time, you'll want tolisten to it again and maybe
multiple times. That's my hope.
So here goes, we can call theseproductivity hacks if we want,
but the word hack really kindof turns me off. I mean, it's
kind of negative, it'soverused, it's cheap, but it's
(06:30):
definition. And mono vernacularrefers to creative problem
solving . So I'll stick with itfor now. The first two hacks I
learned from Tim Ferriss'sbook, the Four Hour Work Week ,
which is, I don't know , 20years old now, but it's still
certainly relevant today. AndI'll link to the book in the
(06:53):
show notes, the Four Hour WorkWeek by Tim Ferriss. The first
is something called Pareto'sPrinciple, P-A-R-E-T-O. So who
is this Pareto guy? He's RetoPareto , 19th century Italian
engineer in Polymath, an ownerof one of the coolest names
ever, fil Fredo , Pareto , Idon't care what your name is.
(07:18):
His name is cooler than yours.
The Pareto principles alsoknown as the 80 20 rule. And he
popularized it by concludingthat 80% of Italy's wealth was
in the hands of 20% of thepopulation. See, nothing's
changed since the 19th century.
And then in the 1940s, anotherengineer, Joseph Duran, applied
(07:40):
that observation to otherthings, most notably quality
control and described it as thevital few versus the useful
many. So how does this apply tocreators and productivity and
photography? Businesses usethis principle to analyze their
customers and revenue sourcesand their problems, and it
(08:00):
turns out that oftentimes 80%of the revenue comes from 20%
of the customers, the vitalfew, and it turns out that
about 80% of the problems andattention and work come from
20% of their customers. Solook, if you make a Venn
(08:22):
diagram and if you have revenuesources in the 80% that only
contribute to 20% of therevenue and they happen to
intersect with the 20% thatlead to 80% of the problems,
you should probably fire themor at least automate them. And
then the 20% that lead to 80%of the revenue find others who
(08:43):
share the same characteristicsafter some analysis and find
more just like them. At onetime I had almost 40 affiliate
partners, which I get revenuefrom, and some of them require
more work and attention thanothers. I applied this
principle to the 40 and somepartnerships I dropped, others
(09:05):
I modified, and then I addedothers that were similar to the
vital few. The result I nowhave only eight down from 40,
but more revenue and less work,a lot less work. So I said,
this may or may not apply toyou, but if you have multiple
income streams, take a closerlook, do less and make more.
(09:28):
The second hack from Ferris'sbook is called Parkinson's
Principle, commonly referred toas Parkinson's Law. Ferris in
his book, which I've alreadymentioned, defines the law as
follows, quote , Parkinson'slaw dictates that a task will
swell in perceived importancein a complexity in relation to
(09:50):
the time allotted for itscompletion. Tasks. And projects
often take longer thannecessary because people tend
to use all the time allottedregardless of the project's,
actual complexity, in otherwords, deadlines are almost
always extended way too farinto the future, much farther
(10:10):
than necessary. And the fartherthey go into the future, the
more complex and bloated andunfocused they become. Not to
mention they're a terriblewaste of time. I have an
example, a personal one thatI'll share. In 2017, I was
contracted to write a book onwildlife photography for a
publisher in the uk. Now, I'mnot that great a writer. I mean
(10:35):
I do okay if I have plenty oftime, but other than that, not
great. So I'm in London andwe're at lunch and we had just
signed a contract back in theiroffice and then I realized we
hadn't talked about when thismight actually get published
and how much time did I have todo this? The rep asked, well,
(10:56):
how much time do you need?
Well, I knew my writing skills,I knew I had some images I
wanted to make for it. I knew Ihad to organize the table of
contents and the outline andprobably do some research for
it. They wanted 140 pages ormaybe it was 160, 50,000 words
(11:19):
of text and I really wanted itto be great. So the more time
the better, right? So I said,about two years
laughed, no chance this bookmight be obsolete. By the time
we published it, I mean, thisis digital photography, digital
(11:40):
technology. So I said, okay,how about a year? Divide that
in half . He said, what? Halfof a year? There's no way I
said this to myself, I can't doit. I'm gonna embarrass myself.
I'm not gonna get it done intime. I'm have to give back the
(12:00):
signing bonus. I also knew thatI had two months of traveling
in Africa coming up, and thatwould take up way too much
time. I can't do this, but mypride got the best of me and I
ultimately agreed. Soimmediately I wrote out an
outline of a book scope in aday. I cleared my schedule of
(12:22):
all marginally important work,and I wrote and wrote and
wrote. I didn't second guessmyself. I just wrote what I
thought was essential for eachchapter. I went to Africa that
summer and wrote on planes, onbuses, in hotels. I wrote every
(12:43):
evening, every available chancemy laptop was out and open and
I was writing. In the end, Ifinished the book in seven
months, but that's not even thebest part. I'm convinced that
the work I did was better thanif I had stretch it out over
two years. The text wasconcise, it was focused, it was
(13:07):
clean. I'm absolutely convincedthat a two year deadline
would've reduced a bloated,unfocused mess knowing myself,
I'm convinced of that. Or itwould've been 18 months of
procrastination, worrying, selfanalyzing every decision about
(13:27):
what should be in the book andwhat shouldn't. And then a, a
mad six month scramble to getit on time. Anyway, it was good
work. Plus I didn't have thismonster project hanging around
my neck like a millstone . Fortwo years. I added 17 months of
creative freedom to mylifespan, literally. So getting
(13:49):
that book done in seven monthswas possible, even if I didn't
know it was possible at thestart, but it required focus
and attention and discipline,focus, attention, and
discipline. What hack did I useto keep that focus and
discipline to prevent myselffrom being distracted and
wasting time? Something calledthe Pomodoro technique.
(14:14):
P-O-M-O-D-O-R-O. And that's alot of o's. You can Google it.
It's a well-known technique.
It's a simple one. I learnedthis as I was writing the book,
and it's a simple way to focuson what's important, the key
from being distracted andgetting things done. And this
is how it goes. The Pomodorotechnique uses timed intervals
(14:38):
of focused work, followed byshort breaks to improve
productivity and mentalagility. The first thing you
do, choose a task you wannaaccomplish. In my case, it was
writing a book. Maybe thespecific task was a chapter or
a section. The second thing,choose a working space with no
distractions. No tv, no peopleif possible, no internet.
(15:04):
Switch your phone to airplanemode so there's no
notifications, no checkingemail, no Instagram, no
distractions, period. If you'reinternet addicted, don't laugh
or people like this. If you'reinternet addicted, turn off the
wifi in your house or youroffice. I'm serious. Next
(15:26):
thing, set the timer on yourphone for 25 minutes, then put
the phone on your desk out ofreach. This 25 minute interval
is called a pomodoro. Work onthat task for 25 minutes with
complete and total focus. Nodistractions, just focus for 25
(15:46):
minutes. Anyone can do thiswhen the alarm goes off, stop
what you're doing and take afive minute break. If there's
more work to do, completeanother Pomodoro. Reset the
timer for 25 minutes and focusagain. Rinse and repeat. Four
Pomodoros, make up a set. Andafter a set, take a 20 or 30
(16:08):
minute break before startingagain. This is so simple and
it's so effective. I use it allthe time and you won't believe
how much you can get done in ashorter amount of time In my
conversation with Chase Jarvis,and that would be back in
episode 73 if you wanna checkit out. We talked about his
(16:29):
latest book, never Play ItSafe, which I will link to in
the show notes. And he wasdescribing how debilitating
being distracted really is andhow being able to focus and
direct attention was the newsuperpower. He went on to quote
Andrew Huberman, professor ofneurobiology and ophthalmology
(16:49):
at Stanford University Schoolof Medicine, as well as a host
of a fantastic podcast by theway, where he says The ability
to focus in direct attention isthe distinguishing factor
between those who will succeedin any endeavor and those who
won't. The Pomodora techniqueis not only a great hack on
getting things done moreefficiently, but it's a great
(17:12):
training on how to focus andhow to keep from being
distracted all the time. Now,if you wanna waste a lot of
time and do crappy work, Ican't think of a better way to
accomplish both thanmultitasking. Just say no to
multitasking. There's anexcellent book by Dave Crenshaw
titled The Myth ofMultitasking, how Doing It All
(17:35):
Gets Nothing Done. I'll link toit in the show notes with the
others. And in the book,Crenshaw cites research that
confirms what I always believeto be true. And that is
multitasking is a myth. We cando multiple things at once, but
the way our brains are wired,it only can focus on one thing
(17:56):
at a time. So you can do twothings simultaneously. You'll
just do 'em badly. Rememberwhen this was something of
prospective employee mightactually brag about or put on a
resume, I'm a multitasker. It'snot multitasking, it's task
switching. You're just bouncingfrom one unfinished project to
(18:17):
another while not actuallyaccomplishing anything. To
quote Seth Godin , a woodpeckercan tap 20 times on a thousand
different trees and getnowhere. Yes, stay busy. Or you
can tap 20,000 times on asingle tree and get dinner. Say
no to multitasking and say yesto singletasking. The next
(18:42):
productivity hack, or let's,let's call this one a
productivity enhancement. It'sa little nerdy, but it's
incredibly effectivechronotypes and energy
matching. Now, a lot ofinformation here comes from
Daniel Pink's book titled WhenThe Scientific Secrets of
Perfect Timing. And of course,like the other books, I'll put
(19:05):
a link in the show notes. Well,here's the basic gist of it,
and I believe this and Ischedule my work around this
idea. A chronotype isessentially your eternal
biological clock thatinfluences when you naturally
feel alert or tired.
Particularly with regard tomental energy and cognitive
ability. There are two basicchronotypes. There are larks.
(19:31):
They're basically morningpeople, and most people,
including myself, fall in thiscategory. So for them, the
mornings are when theyexperience peak mental and
cognitive energy. This is thebest time for analytical work
focusing and decision making .
In the afternoons, theyexperience a trough where
(19:51):
mental energy and alertness arein decline. This is the best
time for administrative androutine tasks that don't
require analytical thinking.
Then they have a recoveryperiod. This is a second wind
of sorts, usually lateafternoons or evenings, this
resurgence of mental alertnessand energy not as strong as the
(20:11):
morning peak energy. However,coupled with the mental
fatigue, the experience at theend of the day and a loss of
inhibition are the best timesfor insight, creativity, and
brainstorming. Pink in his bookemphasizes that about 75% of
people follow this patternwhile about 25% are in the
second chronotype , the nightowls, where they experience
(20:35):
these stages in different orderwith their peak coming later in
the day. To optimize yourmental and creative energy and
become more productive, youshould try matching the tasks
with the appropriate times ofday. For me personally,
mornings are for analyticalwork focus. The Pomodoro
(20:55):
technique and writing thatworks best for me. I'm much
more productive in themornings. The afternoons are
off peak . So I scheduleroutine tasks like answering
email, cleaning my camera gearfrom the last expedition,
keywording your images inLightroom. Now , why would I
want to waste the peakproductive morning hours, the
(21:19):
times when I have heightenedmental energy for something
routine and banal likekeywording that's incredibly
wasteful and unproductive. Orconversely, why would I
schedule writing or analyticalwork in the afternoon during an
off-peak cognitive troughagain, so unproductive and a
(21:39):
time of day when you're alsomost prone to making errors.
Just a side note here, a studyin the Journal of American
Medicine found that anesthesiaerrors during surgery are far
more likely to happen in theafternoon than the morning, and
doctors find fewer polypsduring afternoon procedures
compared to the morning.
(21:59):
Something to consider if you'replanning surgery, doctors are
human too. Then in the evening,this is the creative
resurgence. This is when I'mmost likely to do image
processing. Why heightenedmental energy, mental fatigue,
loss of inhibition. The leftbrain let's down its guard
(22:20):
little and let's the rightbrain take the wheel for just a
little while. And when I'mdoing image processing, I'm
trying to recreate the best Ican, what I was feeling at the
time, not necessarily what Isaw or what I was thinking, but
what I was feeling. Theevenings are perfect for this
soft music. Maybe in thebackground, no lyrics, just
(22:42):
music, maybe a glass of winemaybe while I relive a
beautiful experience in natureor an exotic location I visited
recently with my camera. Again,you could take a deeper dive
into this topic by readingDaniel Pink's book titled When
The Scientific Secrets ofPerfect Timing. Be sure to
(23:04):
check out the show notes. Andlastly, to optimize your time
and become more productive.
Follow these instructions.
Automate and delegate. Automatethe routine. I'm gonna say this
three times. Automate theroutine, automate the routine,
automate the routine as much aspossible. Email automation, set
(23:28):
up filters, templates, scheduleemail to reduce time spent on
correspondence. Social mediascheduling. Use tools like
Hootsuite or Buffer to plan andautomate content posting. And
that goes for newsletters aswell. All your financial
management should be automated,all of it. You can use systems
like QuickBooks to link yourbank account to automated
(23:50):
transaction recording,automated invoicing, expense
tracking. There's all kinds ofapps now that can scan receipts
and automatically categorizeexpenses. And this is the bare
minimum that you should bedoing in automation.
Selectively use AI to performroutine tasks as well, and then
delegate. And this doesn't meanthat you have to take on
(24:13):
employees. In fact, I wouldn'trecommend it unless your
business really gets big.
Taking on employees creates awhole new set of problems and
creates a bigger drain on yourtime. Stay lean and mean is my
mantra. But sites like Fiverr,they can do coding, design
work, logos, website creation,maintenance , uh, alterations,
(24:37):
WordPress. I've had them doaudio engineering work for this
podcast as well. And the pricesare extremely reasonable.
You're hiring a freelancer, acontractor for a very specific
job. You don't need to be doingthese things yourself, let
someone else do it. Myphotography workshops, I used
(24:58):
to operate my own. And do yourealize how much work, the
logistical work that goes intothis? I suspect many of you who
are listening do know
You have a website thatconstantly needs updating with
the newest offerings, clientcorrespondence, invoicing,
collecting deposits, collectingremaining balances, paying
(25:19):
vendors, getting propercommercial use authorizations
for operating in national parksand public lands, hiring guides
and outfitters scheduling andall that occurs before the
workshop even begins. So in2018, I gave all that up. I
delegated that work in a way. Ipartnered with MCH workshops,
(25:40):
the top, the the PremierPhotography workshop and
expedition company in theworld. And I lead and teach
workshops for them. What anhonor, really, because it's a
first rate company all the way.
But look at how much time wasliberated by letting them do
all that work that I justdescribed. Am I making less
(26:03):
money? Net as a result withworkshops slightly, but look at
what I've gained in invaluabletime. Look at the new projects.
I've been able to start as aresult. And that would include
this podcast too, by the way.
It was only a win-win for me towork with this amazing company
for one, and have the time andfreedom to pursue other
(26:26):
photography projects andclassroom teaching. I've
partnered up with Kel One forall my classroom and video
classes. Do I wanna spend hoursand hours creating my own
instructional videos, learningnew video editing software,
spending hours and hours behinda computer doing all that
editing. That's crazy. Kelbywon another first class
(26:49):
organization that I'm proud towork with. Another win-win for
me, delegation, automate anddelegate. Liberate your
precious times. You can do whatyou do best. Create. Okay, so
that's all the time we have forthis episode. I hope it was
worth your precious time inlistening, you can check out
(27:12):
the show notes for the links tothe books I mentioned in this
episode, as well as muteworkshops and tell one all
great resources. And look, ifyou have the chance and you
enjoyed the episode, pleaseleave a review on Apple
Podcasts and Spotify and Amazonor whatever podcast platform
you use to listen and leave arating or review. Thank you and
(27:36):
thanks for listening. Here'sthe truth, adventure and
Passion, boys and Girls. Seeyou next time.
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